June 25, 2010

Source: HCJB Global (written by Ralph Kurtenbach)

No piercing trumpet triplets from the finale of the "William Tell Overture" or shout of "Hi-yo, Silver, away!" accompanied the HCJB Global Voice engineers' exit from the coastal Ecuadorian city of Esmeraldas.

But they were heroes to one listener who got their attention to say thanks.

"We were heroes in a silver Toyota pickup," recounted engineer Tim Zook. "As we left to return to Quito, a taxi driver honked at us, and when I rolled the window down he yelled 'Thanks for repairing the radio transmitter!' He had seen 'HCJB Global Voice' on the door of the pickup."

Training permeated the trip, as did mutual learning between Zook and his companions. "Milton Pumisacho is an engineer and teaches me what he knows as well," Zook said. The other, Luis Chila, is a volunteer who cares for the transmitter site at Esmeraldas, several hours northwest of the capital.

The city's 100,000 residents can again receive a crystal-clear FM signal with Christian programming, bringing listeners music and encouragement. Chila visits the transmitter site regularly to change filters and take meter readings.

"He calls when the signal sounds less than perfect," said Zook. In this recent example, the station had been off the air for nearly four days. "All we had to do was remove a lizard that shorted the 3,000 volts in the transmitter and replace a fuse," Zook explained. "I wish it was always this easy. It was easy to be a hero this week!"